Brenda, Dorothy and Pat all slept in the same Pennine dormitory at the school, which stands on the fell outside Bellingham.
Pat said: “We all wrote to each other after leaving Brown Rigg and knew when we were getting married and so on. But being able to get together like this every year is just fantastic. They were good days at the old school.
“We had to work hard but there was a wonderful atmosphere. We did our own washing and so on, and it was like real life, which stood us in good stead for the future.”
Dorothy said: “Every year somebody new comes back into our lives – never a year goes by without it happening. The school played a big part in the village – and still does.”
Last night the “Riggers” enjoyed a barbecue which was moved indoors because of the dreadful weather.
Today they will take a look around the old wooden buildings of their former school before an evening dance.
And tomorrow Eddie’s brother Syd will conduct a church service, with dinner laid on for those remaining at Bellingham’s Riverdale Hall Hotel tonight.
“And when people leave, they book their accommodation for the next two years,” said Eddie, 68, himself a mid-50s pupil then of Acomb and now of Prudhoe.
“This is a reunion we never thought would reach this level, but now just continues to grow.”
